LionsXII: Don't take anything away from us Despite match-fixing allegations, LionsXII focused on the job at hand

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SINGAPORE - After a stuttering start to their Malaysian Super League (MSL) campaign, V Sundramoorthy's LionsXII are beginning to find their groove.

Their football has been entertaining, the goals are now flowing and their consequent climb up the table has seen them just three points off the pace in fourth spot.

But recent revelations of suspicion that LionsXII matches have been fixed by Malaysian clubs have taken some gloss off the team's three-match unbeaten run.

The New Paper reported yesterday that at least one LionsXII game was "a confirmed fix".

"If (the allegations) are true, it is very disappointing but we cannot control things outside of our team," LionsXII midfielder Isa Halim told Today.

"But whatever the case may be, we should not take anything away from the performances of the boys. Every single one of them has worked hard to get into the first XI, and now we're starting to play flowing attacking football."

Since their 1-0 loss to Terengganu at home on Jan 28, the LionsXII have gone on to draw with Selangor (1-1) before turning in a scintillating attacking performance to beat Malaysia Cup champions Negeri Sembilan 3-1 last Saturday.

The team returned from Perak yesterday beaming with another victory in the bag, with skipper Shahril Ishak scoring a brace in a hard-fought 2-1 win.

"I don't think there was anything suspicious about the games that we have played. They were all tough games, even the ones we won were not easy," said Shahril, who has scored five goals so far.

"The Malaysian teams we've played have all been very aggressive on the pitch, and especially when we've played at away grounds, they've always come at us. But having said that, all teams have their off-days, even us.

"I don't think there's anything fishy."

Both the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau (CPIB) have made their zero-tolerance stance clear even before the MSL season kicked off in January, and neither Isa nor Shahril, both stand-out performers in the campaign so far, believes any of their team-mates would get embroiled in match-fixing.

"We know the CPIB's no-nonsense approach and how they'll hunt down anyone suspected of it. For us players, all we want to do is live the dream of playing in front of packed stadiums in a competition that has much historical meaning for us," said Isa.

Shahril called for the LionsXII to focus on their own football.

"Now we should leave it to the authorities to do their job, while we keep on doing ours well. The CPIB spoke to us before the season, we know the consequences and I firmly believe our boys are clean," he said.

"All we need to do is focus on playing good football in all the competitions."